Jen opened her eyes slowly, and as her vision slowly shifted back into focus, she saw Katie, Lucas and Tommy standing over her with concerned looks on their faces.
"It looks like she's coming around," Jen heard a voice say, but she couldn't make out who it was.
Finally, she was able to sit up, trying to get an idea as to where she was. She remembered talking with Alex, then something happened, and Captain Logan was there. Other than that, the events leading up to that exact moment were a blur.
"You had us worried there for a second," another voice said.
She recognized that voice as Lucas. "I'm okay," she sat up slowly. "Something strange is going on," she mentioned.
"We know, it's been happening all day," Katie told her.
"You mean you guys see it too?"
"Yeah, it's sort of like throwing a rock in a river, and it ripples through the water. When it stops, things are different," she said.
"But how is it that you guys aren't effected by these shifts in time, but I am?" Tommy inquired.
"We should talk to Trip, see what he has to say," Jen suggested as she hopped off the medical bed she was on, shaking off the rest of her disorientation.
"We tried, but when he went to his house, someone else was living there. I checked the files, no one from Xybria ever joined Time Force," Lucas told her.
"Trip is gone? Damn it," she said.
"We have to think; what is it that all of us have in common, but we don't have in common with the rest of Time Force?" Katie asked.
They remained silent until Tommy's eyes lit up excitement. "I could be wrong, but aren't you guys the only rangers in Time Force?" he inquired.
"Yes, but I don't see what that…." She paused. "Of course, the Chrono Morphers. Somehow, the energy signature of each morpher shielded us from the shifts in time," Jen realized.
"So now that we know why we aren't effected, we still need to figure out who would want to change past events to alter the future. What's in it for them?" Katie replied.
"We should talk to Alex, see if…." She was cut short.
"I checked the records, there is no mention of Alexander Collins. He's been erased from history," Lucas said, putting his hand on Jen's shoulder for comfort.
She snatched away. "Who the hell would want Trip and Alex out the way? Who would go back in time and eliminate former rangers one by one?" she snapped.
"It stands to reason that morphers of the past emitted a similar radiation to the Chrono morphers. If that were true, it would mean that rangers would be the only people not affected by the shifts in time. Someone or something wants to remove all rangers from the history logs, leaving them the only person with knowledge of the original time line," Tommy brought up.
"For that to be true, it has to be someone from this time," Katie said.
"We have to find out who this person is and the next time they're going to strike. If we can travel back in time at the exact moment they make their move, we can stop them," she said.
"I'm afraid it won't be that easy," they heard a voice say from behind.
They turned around, only to see Captain Logan walk in the room, closing and locking the door behind them.
"Captain?"
"Time Force has been aware of these shifts in time for a few days now, but have been unable to track down the person responsible for the shifts. We were organizing a special task force to put a stop it to, but members of the counsel began to be erased from existence. To go back in time and stop whoever is doing this, it will alert him to the fact that we know what's going on. That could cause a rift in time itself. We have to go back to when all this originally started, allow them to think they succeeded, then fix whatever damage they've done," he explained.
"But there are several incursions, we'd have to stop them all," Jen pointed out.
"The four of you will have to go back and stop each one. Meanwhile, I'll stay here and try to track down who it is and why they're doing this," he turned to Tommy. "I am aware of your situation, and that your body is still adjusting to the treatments we gave you, but if you're going to remain unaffected by the time shifts, you're going to need one of these," he said, handing him a Chrono morpher.
Before Tommy could reach out and grab it, Jen grabbed his wrist. "It could kill him," she said.
"If he doesn't take it, we'll all cease to exist and it won't matter," the Captain reminded her.
"We'll need access to a time ship and detailed logs of where and when the first incursions began," she said.
"From what we can tell, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were the first targets. The three rangers who passed down their morphers to attend the peace conference, Jason, Trini and Zach will be killed in a plane on the way to the conference itself. Focus your attention on this one first. You'll have to allow whoever is responsible for this to believe they accomplished their goal, and then correct the incursion. Once they're safe, history will shift and we'll be able to determine what the next target will be," he told them.
"How were they killed?"
"Reports say there was a malfunction in the planes engine, which suggests that there was sabotage involved. Again, let the saboteur think they accomplished their goal, then find a way to either repair the plane or get the three of them off the plane without letting them know who you are or why you're doing it," he said.
"Why can't they know? It would easier for all involved if they knew," Tommy brought up.
"Knowledge of future events will alter the balance of the space/time continuum, forcing them to take different courses of action. Its important that each of them do what they were meant to do, and they won't if they continuous second guess themselves because of their foreknowledge of things to come," he explained.
"Okay guys, lets do it," Jen said, speaking for the group.
(*)
The four of them sat in front of the controls in the time ship. Katie turned her seat around, going over the final launch sequence.
"Prepare for temporal displacement," she warned.
"As soon as you're mission is complete, get back to the time ship. I'll have details of your next assignment once you get back," Captain Logan informed them.
"Understood," Lucas said, switching off the communications systems.
"Lift off in 5…4…3…2…" the entire ship began to shake as it lifted off the ground. On the screen, Tommy could see a temporal vortex of some sort opening in front of them. Thrusters came on line, and ship headed towards the vortex.
"Good luck rangers, and may the power protect you," Captain Logan mumbled under his breath as he watched the ship enter the vortex, then disappear.